Home Is Where The Heart Is
by greysanatomyfanforever
Summary: AU. MerDer Slexie. Lexie returns to Seattle after her son dies, finally reuniting with Meredith, who is still heartbroken over Derek after he picks Addison. It's their journey to finding love and a home.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! So if you're a reader of Starting Over, I have major writer's block but I promise I'll finish it. It's just that this story has been on my mind for a while now and I'm really excited to write this one. I really hope everyone likes it so please review (even if it's to tell me it sucks). This story is just going to be focused on everyone really. well mostly MerDer and Slexie. It's AU. **

_Background:_

_The story starts after Addison comes to Seattle Grace (post "Pick me, choose me, love me" speech). She didn't cheat with Mark, but with some other guy. Mark decides to come to Seattle to be there for Derek after Derek tells him Addison came. Meredith, George, Alex, and Izzie are living together. The original 5 interns are all residents. Christina is still with Burke at this point. Lexie is Meredith's full sister (Ellis's daughter). Thatcher left them due to the divorce. Meredith and Lexie are really close, but are estranged at the start of the story (for reasons to be revealed!)_

Ch. 1: Making My Way Back To You

Meredith was lying in bed with a random guy. She had gotten drunk and taken home some remotely attractive guy who had been more than willing to go with her. But now he was on the verge of passing out and she was sobering. She needed to find more alcohol before she started thinking about McDreamy.

Before she could climb out of bed, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. In her hurry to pick up, she forgot to check the number.

"Hello?" She whispered.

A sniffle followed by a sob came through. "Oh my gosh Meredith thank god you picked up. Please don't hang up. I need you right now. I know you said not to call you ever again, but I need my sister." A voice Meredith never thought she'd hear again babbled.

"Lexie, breathe." She tried to soothe her sister. She didn't want to think about what could've happened. She hadn't meant the last words she'd told Lexie. Not after everything Lexie had done for her.

"Chance. He's dead." Lexie said, her voice sounding flat. "My son is dead."

Meredith froze. "What about Jackson?" Jackson was the main reason Meredith had told Lexie not to call her. Chance was Lexie's son. Jackson Avery was Chance's father, who had never really been there for Lexie. But for some reason, Lexie had loved him. And Meredith didn't want to watch her suffer, but her attempt to help Lexie had failed and ultimately led to estrangement.

"I don't care about Jackson." Lexie replied. "I left him. Two hours ago."

"Lexie." Meredith didn't know what to say.

"I spoke to Dr. Webber. He said I could start. I know the interns start next week, and I was supposed to do my residency at Mass Gen, but I can't stay here. I can't stay where Chance died, Meredith. I can't." Lexie rambled.

"I'm here. Lexie, I didn't mean it when I told you not to call. You're my sister." Meredith said. "Did you book a flight?"

"Not yet. I was going to do it after I called you. I didn't know if you were okay with me or not." Lexie answered.

Behind Meredith, the guy groaned. Meredith turned on the light and found his clothes. She threw them at him. "Hold on, Lexie." She covered the phone and waited until he was conscious enough to hear her.

"I think you should go." She said. Thankfully, he was already dressing. Unlike her supposed-to-be one night stand who turned out to be so much more.

_"You know what? We don't have to do the thing."_

_"Oh, we can do anything you want."_

_"No, the thing.. exchange the details, pretend we care.. Look, I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower. Okay? And when I get back down here, you won't be here. So, goodbye, um..."_

_"Derek."_

_"Derek! Right. Meredith."_

"The door is right in front of the stairs when you walk down. Can't miss it." She added.

She waited until she heard the door close before she returned to the call. "You're okay with the attic, right?"

"Yeah. Mere, I'm really tired and I just want to drink right now. Can we figure out the specifics tomorrow?" Lexie asked.

Meredith understood. "Me too. Be careful. And call me!"

She heard the click as Lexie hung up. She was too tired to make her way downstairs and find tequila. Not to mention, her bottle was probably empty after all the nights of pounding shots.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Mark paused as he saw his best friend ogling a woman who wasn't his wife. A woman he had ultimately not chosen in favor of Addison. And Mark sighed. Keeping tabs on Derek was much harder than he'd anticipated. If it wasn't for Derek's mother who was practically his mother, he probably wouldn't have even left New York. He hated interns. He preferred the private practice he'd shared with Derek.

"You know, staring isn't going to take her clothes off." Mark said, passing Derek a cup of coffee.

"I wasn't." Derek feebly attempted to deny it.

Mark chuckled. "You're not fooling me. We've been friends since we were five."

Suddenly, another girl appeared next to Meredith. A girl that was definitely new. Mark would've remembered someone so attractive.

"Dr. Grey!" Bailey called. Both girls turned their heads.

"And the mystery deepens." Mark commented.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Mark."

"The new one. Good lord, what is it with this hospital and sharing last names? Give me a break." Bailey huffed.

Suddenly, the new Dr. Grey was approaching the nurses' station where Mark and Derek had been observing from.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Grey. Uh, just call me Lexie. I know Meredith is Dr. Grey. I'm on your service today." She was already looking at Mark as she spoke.

"So, you know who I am?" Mark asked.

"Um yeah. Well I figured you'd be Dr. Sloan because he's Dr. Shepherd, which I know from Meredith's description. Crap, I didn't say that. But you're Dr. Sloan. You're head of Plastics and an ENT specialist. You can stitch without leaving scars, which is pretty impressive." Lexie babbled, nervous. God, this was not going well for her first day.

But Mark smiled, amused. Maybe he could handle interns after all. "I'm impressed. That's a lot to remember."

"Photographic memory." Lexie explained, shrugging.

Mark's jaw dropped. "No way. That's so cool! Periodic table. Go."

Lexie blushed. "Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium. I can keep going if you want."

"I call her. She's my intern." Mark announced to no one in particular.

Derek raised an eyebrow at Mark's interest. "Interns can't specialize."

Mark scoffed. "That's what you think. Lexie, is it? Let's go check on some patients."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Meredith!" Cristina called as Meredith walked into Joe's Bar. Cristina and Lexie were already seated and judging by the empty glasses, were on their way to getting drunk. Meredith was glad that her sister and her person got along. They were the only two she could confide in.

Lexie swallowed another shot, coughing a lot. She wasn't as acclimated to tequila as Cristina and Meredith, who could pound shots in quick succession. Mark had operated on a little boy who was just a couple years older than Chance, which had brought all the feelings she was trying to smush to the surface.

Meredith grabbed a shot and drank it quickly. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"I'm pregnant." Cristina blurted between shots, before bursting into hysterical giggling.

"I'm a mother who outlived her kid." Lexie half-sobbed, half-laughed.

"I'm a dirty mistress." Meredith drank another shot. "I mean, I've done some pretty slutty things, but I never thought I'd be the slutty intern that's a dirty mistress."

Lexie giggled. "You used to give all your flings heart shaped hickeys, just to make sure everyone knew which boys you'd done and which you hadn't. All the rumors."

"A heart shaped hickey?" Cristina exclaimed. At the exclamation, certain heads had turned to eavesdrop. Mostly the nurses who seemed like they couldn't get enough.

"It's easy." Meredith scoffed, downing another shot.

"And when girls tried to copy her, it looked like somebody tried to attack the guy." Lexie couldn't stop laughing.

Meredith shrugged. "Not my fault."

Cristina snickered. "Just when I think you're boring, you rise. Mer, you rise."

George walked over, concerned. Mostly about Meredith. "Are you guys okay?"

All three burst out in laughter. "Bambi, we're just peachyy." Cristina slurred.

"Splendid." Lexie added.

"Ecstatic." Meredith finished, downing another shot.

George rolled his eyes. "Why do I bother?"

"Because you have a crush on Mere." Lexie replied, causing George to blush. He spluttered and walked back to the booth he was sharing with Izzie and Alex.

"I'm on a boy ban." Meredith decided.

"Already there." Lexie commented.

"I'll join you. After all, Burke and I are no longer." Cristina added. "Let's get out of here. I'm already broke."

Across the room, Mark was snickering as Derek drank another single malt scotch. "Heart shaped hickeys. Did she ever give you one?"

Derek shook his head. "But she's skilled at everything in that area."

Mark paused. "Derek, I get why you chose Addison. I do, but you're so unhappy. I don't like seeing you this way. You're my brother."

Derek sighed. "I made the wrong choice."

"So fix it. Addison's not happy either. She notices you staring at Meredith."

"Since when are you a relationship expert? You've never been in one, as far as I can remember."

"Since I've observed yours." Mark replied. "You should go home." He added, noting that Derek had probably drank too much.

Derek scoffed. "And where is that? I don't know where my home is. Not anymore."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Old Flames

Meredith had known it was a mistake to let Lexie come with her when she visited their mother. Ellis had always been cold, but nothing could ever prepare Meredith for what truths Ellis revealed in her Alzheimer's haze. Meredith had learned all about the affair Ellis had with Dr. Webber during their residency at Seattle Grace, and that Lexie's conception had been a last ditch effort to try to save the marriage with Thatcher. Most days, Ellis either didn't remember Lexie or said terrible things. Then again, Ellis had been absent through all of Lexie's life.

Meredith fidgeted as Ellis was brought in. "Hi Mom." Meredith said.

"Meredith? Where's Thatcher? I'm at work. You need to leave. I have surgery!" Ellis was confused. "Why do you have a friend with you?"

"No, Mom. I'm grown up now." Meredith tried to bring her mother to the present. Ellis looked around, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh. Who's your friend?" Ellis continued.

Lexie cringed. "I'm Alexandra, but everyone calls me Lexie."

Ellis was silent for a moment. "Alexandra." She finally said. "Don't shorten your name. It won't earn you respect."

"Thanks for the advice." Lexie's voice fell flat. She saw Meredith looking at someone nearby and realized that the someone was Dr. Webber. Meredith had told her about the affair but she could tell that Meredith was still surprised to see him here.

Ellis didn't seem to share the feeling. "Richard!" A smile instantaneously appeared.

"Lexie, that's our cue." Meredith stood up. "Bye Mom."

Lexie waited until they were outside before she let loose. "She doesn't remember me. My own mother doesn't know who I am." She freaked out. Meredith had tried to warn her, but she was stubborn and Meredith gave in. She didn't even know why she came. It wasn't like seeing her mother could patch the hole losing Chance left. "What kind of mother doesn't recognize her own child? I had to freaking identify Chance. I had to tell them that it was indeed my son lying there. I wanted to believe that it wasn't him, that's how bad it was. Because his stupid father let him sit in the front. Of all the stupid things Jackson did, letting a three year old sit in the front seat was definitely the dumbest thing. And Jackson hasn't even called! I know I left him, but he should've called or something if he really loved me like he said he did. I should've just told him to get out of Chance's life. Instead, I wanted my son to know what it was like to be raised with both parents. God, he promised they'd have fun at Chucky Cheese's while I had a night off. And now my son is dead. My mother doesn't know who I am. I have no family except you. Meredith, I'm a wreck and I can't keep it together anymore. All the tequila in the world can't help me forget. I don't want to hurt like this anymore."

Meredith hugged her. "I know." She had been waiting for this moment. Lexie had slowly been cracking.

Lexie shook her head. "I can't believe this. I just can't. You know what? I don't care. And we have work. Let's just go."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"You want a divorce?" Addison asked.

Derek ran a hand through his hair. "I believe that's what I said."

"I thought we were trying to work this out." Addison sounded exasperated. She started to pace his office.

"It's not working out!" Derek replied, just as exasperated. "The love has been gone for a while now. I'm sorry."

"Why? Because you're still in love with the slutty intern?" Addison asked.

Derek scoffed. "Don't act all high and mighty. You cheated."

"And I admit it was a mistake! A mistake that I kept trying to make up to you. You were always gone or at work. We weren't acting like the Addison and Derek everyone had come to know. I was lonely, and I made a mistake. A mistake you said you'd try to forgive me for. I don't think you can say the same about her." Addison waited for a response.

"Meredith isn't a mistake. She'll never be a mistake. Going back to you was a mistake." Derek finally said. It was the truth. Meredith had been the fresh breath of air he'd needed when he moved to Seattle. And he had treated her so poorly. Meredith deserved so much better. Even Addison deserved better than a man who didn't love her. Derek knew he deserved better than to suffer. So he'd made his decision. "I already called my lawyer."

Addison shrugged. "Fine." She stalked out of his office. Before the door had closed, Mark had already walked in.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mark asked.

"I just ended 11 years." Derek answered.

"Derek. That's a large part of your life, I get it. But right now, you need to take a step back. Give yourself some time, get your head together. 11 years isn't as long as the rest of your life. Spend the rest of your life with whoever makes you happy." Mark suggested, placing a patient's folder down on his desk. "In the meantime, we have a surgery."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Look at his stomach." Cristina whispered to Meredith. The two were examining a man in the ER who had come in with stomach pain since they'd been assigned to the pit.

Meredith flipped through his chart, trying to determine a reason for the odd protrusions the man's stomach exhibited.

"Where is that dumb intern with the scans?" Meredith asked, frustrated.

"Right here!" The intern nearly tripped over his feet in his hurry to deliver the scans. Meredith took them out of the envelope and gasped.

"Oh my. Page Dr. Bailey. NOW!" She barked. "And prep him for surgery."

"The man did what?" Bailey asked.

"Swallowed the heads of Judy dolls." Meredith shrugged as she finished scrubbing in.

"Good lord, what is going on with the world these days?" Bailey shuddered as she walked over to the operating table.

After three gruesome hours, their patient no longer had Judy dolls in his stomach. Meredith was thankful that she'd never played with dolls growing up with the exception of an Anatomy Jane doll, which didn't really count. The surgery had been a nice distraction from the latest gossip floating around the Seattle Grace gossip mill. Apparently, the Shepherds were getting divorced. Meredith tried to not think about what that meant. After all, he picked Addison for a reason. Granted, that reason had been the fact that Addison was his wife. Meredith wanted to hate Derek. She really did, but she just couldn't. At this rate, her boy ban wasn't going to last. She was going to need some empty sex to fill the space he'd left.

She sat on the empty gurney in the basement where she always met her friends. Cristina showed up, sitting next to her.

"I scheduled an abortion. The thing is, I sort of need a person to be there." Cristina said quietly.

"I'll be there." Meredith promised. "I can't stop thinking about McDreamy."

"I miss Burke." Cristina confessed.

"I need something to distract me. Maybe I'll start knitting. Like Izzie bakes. Maybe I'll knit. It's good for surgical dexterity." Meredith pondered.

Cristina snickered. "Knitting? I'd like to see that."

"Knitting? I like knitting." Izzie joined the conversation.

"Izzie. Since you're one of my roommates, what do you think of getting a dog?" Meredith asked.

"Ooh, I love pets. Are we getting one?" Izzie asked, excited.

"I was thinking about it." Meredith answered. "I'll talk to everyone else, see what they think."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Meredith stepped into the elevator. She was headed down to meet Lexie so they could go to the local animal shelter at the vet's office. They planned to adopt a dog if one caught their attention.

Just before the doors shut, Derek stepped on. Meredith groaned inwardly. Her track record with Derek in elevators wasn't great. After all, they had practically made out in the elevator a bunch of times. She remembered the first time, shortly after she'd discovered he was her boss. She'd dropped all her charts to kiss him. God, that was a good kiss. Actually, everything was good with Derek. She shook her head before her thoughts became too porny.

"I'm getting a dog." She blurted. Derek turned and smiled, amused.

"A dog?" He asked.

She nodded. "Well, Lexie and I are going to look."

Derek leaned against the rail at the back of the elevator. Meredith noted that he was still in his navy scrubs. He looked so good in them. They accented his eyes wonderfully. "That sounds exciting. So, not that this has been on my mind, but heart shaped hickeys?"

Meredith cringed. She'd forgotten about that night in the bar. She hadn't even realized Derek was there. "Yeah. I was a bit of a wild child."

"I'm impressed. I didn't know those existed." Derek commented.

Meredith blushed. "Well now you do!" She squeaked. The elevator dinged and Meredith hurried out. She had to stop finding everything he did so attractive. It just wouldn't work. She would not be the other woman. She could not be the dirty mistress or the slutty intern.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Ooh, look at him!" Lexie pointed at a dog with shaggy light brown fur, who was wagging his tail. He exuded a goofy charm.

"He's perfect." Meredith agreed, smiling.

"I think we should -" Lexie stopped speaking midsentence. "Actually, I think we should go. Now."

Meredith glanced at her. "Why?"

"12 o clock." Lexie hissed.

Meredith followed Lexie's line of vision and saw someone she thought she'd never see again. Someone she probably would have been fine with never seeing again.

"Okay, yeah. Let's go." Meredith quickly stood up and started walking towards the exit.

"Meredith Grey?" Both girls froze at the sound of the voice. Meredith slowly spun around.

"Finn?" She turned to see Finn Dandridge.

"It's been forever since I've seen you!" He exclaimed, smiling. Lexie stared at him like he had three heads.

"Yeah. A long time." Meredith affirmed. "We broke up and never spoke again." She felt the need to remind him. He was acting as if their dreadful goodbye had never happened. Then again, the entire relationship had been awful for Meredith.

"That's all water under the bridge. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good. You?" Meredith replied.

"I'm great. The business is doing well, and working with the animals is amazing." Finn answered. "Speaking of business, I have an appointment. Here's my card. You should call me sometime. It was really nice to see you again."

Meredith took the card he was holding out with shaking fingers. She didn't exhale until after he had walked away.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who thought that was crazy." Lexie commented.

"That was definitely crazy."

"You're not going to call him, are you?" Lexie asked.

"I don't know." Meredith answered. "People change." Maybe Finn changed. Meredith could see herself liking the new Finn. Plus, he would get her mind off Derek.

"No. Meredith, no. Finn doesn't change. I don't need to remind you. At least, I shouldn't have to." Lexie was frustrated. "He's an old flame. He burned out. Leave it that way."

"I know. Let's go home." Meredith answered. Finn was an old flame, but was there a spark that could be rekindled? Did Meredith want to rekindle it? She pocketed the card in case.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Epiphany

Meredith was sick and tired of being in the pit. She wanted to be on somebody's service, anybody's service. Being in the pit usually meant just suturing or ordering scans. She wanted to scrub in. She was going through surgery withdrawal. Nothing had seemed to be going her way lately. She'd gone on a couple of dates with Finn but she knew it was never going to go anywhere. Finn had sent her flowers at work, which in turn had caused the rumor mill to be in a frenzy over Meredith's life. There was even a bet on whether Meredith would choose Finn or Derek. Meredith hadn't even seen Derek since the elevator. She overheard the nurses discussing the finalization of his divorce. A couple of the nurses were even considering pursuing him. One of them was named after some sort of flower, Lily?

"Meredith. It's time to get up!" Lexie barged in.

"I'm not going to work." Meredith lifted her head from the pillow to speak.

"You have to go!" Izzie called, before walking downstairs.

"Saving lives is not optional." George added.

"Yes it is. I'm staying home." Meredith replied.

"Maybe there'll be a horrible accident near the hospital? Lots of surgeries you know. Cut people open!" Lexie attempted.

"I don't care about surgeries!" Meredith grabbed a pillow to cover her ears.

Ten minutes later, Lexie returned to Meredith's room with Cristina.

"You have a feeling?" Cristina asked.

Meredith peeked from under her pillow. Seeing her person, she set the pillow aside. "Yes."

"Okay. What kind of feeling?" Cristina continued.

"Like I might die." Meredith answered.

"Today, tomorrow, in fifty years? We're all gonna die eventually. Now we're late. Let's go!" Cristina replied. Lexie nodded her agreement.

"Cristina! Come on." Meredith glared.

Cristina and Lexie sighed. Both sat down on Meredith's bed. "Okay, this is me being supportive."

If Meredith didn't have a feeling, she would have laughed at Cristina's attempt. "Really?" She asked. Then she decided to open up. "Fine. The man I love has a wife. Well had a wife I guess since the divorce is all finalized now. But he chose her over me. She had my McDreamy! And now all the nurses want him. Well not all the nurses I guess since a lot of them are still after McSteamy but there's one that's got some sort of flowery name that wants him! And she's probably bright and shiny so she'll get him! What have I got? I can't remember the last time we kissed. Cause you never think the last time is the last time. You think there'll be more. You think you have forever, but you don't. Plus my conditioner decided to stop working and I think I have brittle bones. I just, I just need something to happen. I need a sign that things are going to change. I need a reason to go on! I need some hope. And in the absence of hope, I need to stay in bed feeling like I might die today."

Cristina, who had been silent, took this opportunity to respond. She lifted the covers off of Meredith. "Whatever. Everybody has problems. Now get your ass out of bed and get to work. Now! Move move move!" She practically rolled Meredith out of bed.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"It's a quiet board." Burke commented as he approached Dr. Webber, who was staring at the board.

"I know."

"It's a bad sign." Burke continued.

"I know that. Don't you think I know that?" Dr. Webber replied.

Derek walked up, finishing tying the string of the waistband of his scrubs. "It's a quiet board."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

The feeling didn't go away as Meredith finished tying on her trauma gown. Instead, she felt frozen.

"You all right?" Derek asked. This was the first time they'd seen each other since the brief elevator ride.

She turned to face him. "I have a feeling." She saw his blue eyes fill with concern. Concern he shouldn't have. After all, she was just the dirty mistress he'd cast aside. But no matter what he did, Meredith would always love him. Which bothered her.

"I get those." He said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He walked towards her.

"And?" She tried not to get distracted by the fact that his hair was slightly out of place. It just added to his attractiveness.

"If you wait long enough, it passes." He tried to reassure her.

"Promise?" She asked.

"I promise." He nodded, giving her a tiny smile.

Meredith wasn't so scared after talking with Derek. Maybe he was right. Maybe the feeling would just go away.

Meredith was waiting for the incoming trauma. She sighed as her feeling intensified. Luckily, Cristina was right next to her.

When the doors of the ambulance opened, Meredith came face to face with a shrieking woman who had blood all over her shirt.

"Take her!" She told her interns. After they departed, Meredith saw a panicked paramedic who had her hand in the patient's body.

I guess I'm getting a surgery after all, Meredith thought to herself.

Cristina had filled Burke in on the case by the time they reached the trauma room where Meredith was examining the patient. They found out that the paramedic's name was Hannah Davies.

"Why do you have your hand inside my patient?" Burke asked.

"It was the only way I could stop the bleeding." She answered.

"Dr. Grey, transport him to the OR. He has a major bleeder. We have to operate immediately. Cristina, go make that woman stop screaming." He instructed.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Cristina was examining a patient that had a massive head trauma, waiting for Dr. Shepherd.

"Is my wife here?" The patient mumbled.

"Was she in the accident?" Cristina asked.

"She should be here." The patient struggled to form the sentence. A phone rang. "You have to answer that. My phone."

Cristina picked up as Derek examined him.

The patient, Tucker Jones, was Bailey's husband. The husband of a woman that was currently in labor. Derek was going to do everything in his power to ensure that Tucker was going to get back to Bailey.

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Just as Dr. Burke was about to make the cut so that Hannah could remove her hand, Alex barged in. "I need to speak with you."

Dr. Burke looked up. Something about the look on Karev's face said it was important. He passed the scalpel to a nurse and walked over to Karev.

"The patient. Was it a through and through?" Alex asked.

"No. There's no exit wound. Why?" Dr. Burke asked, confused.

"The guy has a rocket inside of him. One that could explode at any moment." Alex answered.

The rest of the OR was staring at the two men, trying to listen in on the conversation. Burke turned around. "Dr. Grey."

Meredith walked over, confused. Quietly, Dr. Burke said, "I want you to walk. Walk, not run. Tell the charge nurse we have a code black. Tell him that I am sure. And then tell him to call the bomb squad."

Ten minutes later, Dr. Burke had let everyone walk away. Meredith refused to go, knowing that he was majorly understaffed now that he had no surgical team. The only person he had was Dr. Milton to keep the patient under and a paramedic who was probably scared out of her mind. Meredith felt obligated to stay. After all, if anything happened to Burke, Cristina wouldn't be okay.

In another OR, a pager went off. "Yang, could you check that?" Derek asked, without even lifting his gaze from Tucker's head.

"They want us to evacuate." Cristina said.

"Why?" Derek asked.

"Your pager said code black." Cristina replied, not knowing what it meant.

Derek froze. He looked up. "It could be a drill. Even if it's not a drill, I can't evacuate. I have an open brain on the table. I'm not leaving Bailey's husband. If anybody wants to go, they should go." No one left.

In the surgical wing, the bomb squad had arrived. Meredith greeted them and was in process of directing them to the proper OR when there was commotion.

She turned around the corner to see Cristina yelling at a member of the bomb squad.

"What's going on?" Cristina demanded.

"Bomb in a body cavity." Meredith replied.

"Bailey's husband's open brain." Cristina walked over.

In Derek's OR, a member of the bomb squad was telling him to evacuate. Most of the surgical team had walked out.

"The Chief of Surgery doesn't scare me. Dr. Bailey scares me. I'm not going to be the one to let her husband die and that's what'll happen if I put his skull flap on in this condition. Bomb or no bomb. Now, get out of my OR." Derek said in response.

Meredith and Cristina walked into the OR when she saw Hannah alone. Hannah was hysterical, trying to get her hand out. As everyone tried to get her to calm down, she yanked her hand out. Everyone except Meredith fell to the ground, expecting an explosion. Meredith took Hannah's place as she watched Hannah run out of the OR, sobbing. Cristina was the first to look up and see Meredith's hand inside the body cavity. She kicked herself for letting Meredith come to work. Meredith, who'd had the feeling. And Cristina had forced her into work.

What did I do, What did I do, Meredith thought.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"What the hell is going on?" Mark demanded. His pager had said Code Black, and though he'd initially written it off as some stupid mistake, he couldn't pretend the presence of the bomb squad was fake. He and Lexie had been in the North wing when he'd gotten the page. His post op patients were fine.

"There's a patient with a bomb in his body cavity." The Chief replied.

"Is Meredith okay?" Lexie asked. Her sister had a feeling. Lexie was freaking out. "She had a feeling earlier. Like she was going to die. Oh god, she didn't want to come into work. But Cristina and I forced her." Lexie blurted before she could stop herself.

Mark looked over at her. She looked so scared. He wanted to just hug her or something, but that would be inappropriate. Plus, he was never really the person who comforted others.

The Chief sighed. "The paramedic whose hand was inside the body panicked and left. Meredith took her place before the bomb could go off. That's all I know right now. The quiet board, that's what's happening."

Lexie froze. Meredith had her hand on a bomb. Meredith could die. Lexie couldn't lose another person. She couldn't lose her sister. She couldn't lose the person who had raised her. Lexie could remember all the time Meredith tried to give Lexie a normal childhood. Lexie fought back tears.

"I have to see her." Lexie said.

"Absolutely not! The surgical wing is closed. It's bad enough that Derek is too stubborn to abandon his surgery." The Chief replied. "Sloan, keep an eye on your intern."

"Will do, Chief." Mark replied.

"Dr. Sloan, you don't understand." Lexie attempted after the Chief had walked away.

"Dr. Grey. I do understand. Derek's in danger too." Mark replied.

"I can't lose Meredith. Not after..." Lexie stopped mid-sentence. She couldn't lose Meredith so close after losing Chance. She wouldn't be able to handle it. She still woke up in the middle of the night expecting to hear little footsteps and a little boy to crawl into her bed. But that little boy was gone.

"Not after?" Mark asked, looking more for a distraction than anything.

"Chance. My son." Lexie finished, sitting down on the floor. "He died last month. Before I moved back."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Mark said.

"I can't lose Meredith because she's the only family I have left. She helps me remember who I am. She gives me something to believe in, you know? That even though I outlived my child, I'll be okay." Lexie confessed.

"You won't lose her." Mark said.

"How do you know?" Lexie asked, facing him. For some reason, she didn't feel weird opening up to her boss. In fact, it was really nice to finally talk to someone other than Meredith and Cristina about her problems.

"Faith." Mark gave her a small smile.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"You realize how stupid that was." The head of the bomb squad said. Meredith tried to remember his name. Dylan?

"It was, Mer. Incredibly stupid." Cristina added.

"Okay, you know when you don't need to be made fun of? Like when you have your hand inside a body with a bomb and a stranger is velcroing a jacket to your boobs." Meredith snapped.

"Got a sense of irony." Dylan commented.

"Things are really ironic." Meredith replied. She turned to Cristina. "I had a feeling."

"What?" Dylan asked.

"Nothing." Meredith answered.

"Time for you to go." Burke said to Cristina when he walked in.

"No, I'm staying." Cristina said. She felt so guilty that Meredith was even in here.

"Cristina, I cannot do this with you in here." Burke whispered.

"We'll be fine. It's okay." Meredith reassured her. "Cristina, tell Lexie I love her, okay? Tell her I am so sorry about the years we didn't speak. Tell her she's going to be alright. In case. I don't want her to mourn forever." Meredith added as Cristina was walking out of the room. "And Cristina, you're my person. Forever." She didn't want to die without saying something. She wanted to talk to Derek too, to tell him that she loved him.

"So, you have a plan, right? You have a way to get me out of this right?" Meredith asked when the door closed. She sniffled, holding back her tears.

To fill the awkward silence, Meredith asked, "So, is the strangest thing that's happened in your OR?"

"I'd have to say that it is." Burke replied.

"Good. Because I'm very competitive." Meredith said.

"All the best surgeons are." Burke smiled.

It felt like she'd kept her hand in there for ages. Meredith wondered when the time would come and if she'd make it out alive. Currently, Dylan and Burke were talking about something. They were too far for Meredith to hear. Judging by their expressions, it wasn't good.

"Stop it. Stop looking at me like I'm a patient. I'm not going to freak out so just tell me what it is." Meredith finally said.

Burke walked over to the table. "A main oxygen line runs directly under this room."

"Okay." Meredith said, confused about his point. "Not okay." She amended when she didn't receive a response. "Well? I need one of you to tell me what it means. Because I know what I think it means, but I tend to be glass half empty these days. Because what I think it means, if the bomb were to explode over this line, the entire hospital could blow up. But that's crazy, right?"

"All it means is we have to move." Dylan came to stand next to Burke.

Burke turned. "Move?"

"That's right, we have to move." Dylan answered.

"Wait. I can't even shift my fingers because we can't move the ammo, but now you want to move the entire gurney?" Meredith shook her head in disbelief. This day could not get any worse. She was definitely going to die.

"It's our safest option." Dylan replied.

"So we move." Burke decided. "Not a problem. We can do this. You handling this, Grey?"

"I'm handling this." Meredith answered.

Meredith walked slowly as the gurney rolled towards the new OR. With the exception of a bump, the gurney seemed to roll smoothly.

"Remember, remove it while keeping it as level as possible." Dylan said as Burke prepared to make the cut.

"You ready?" Burke asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Meredith attempted to crack a joke.

"You have to be ready." Burke answered.

"Yeah. I guess."

"No one should have to move out of the house." Meredith started. She had a feeling that this was the end. "Make sure that they get to stay. In the house."

"Grey, his pressure is dropping." Burke warned.

"This is crazy. Both of you should just go." Meredith panicked.

"No one is dying." Dylan said firmly. "Pretend I'm someone you like but listen to me."

Meredith closed her eyes. She imagined that Derek was there. And she began to pull the bomb out. With shaking hands, she placed it in Dylan's open ones.

She stepped back to let Burke work. Thinking the worst was over, Meredith walked outside, where Dylan had been just seconds earlier.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. Meredith flew backwards.

It was Lexie and Cristina who found her when they were finally allowed to go. The elevator had opened to reveal Derek and Burke, but no Meredith.

They turned on the shower and helped her in.

GAGAGAGAGA

Meredith was in bed, trying to calm down after the day. There was a knock on the door, and then Lexie walked in.

"There's somebody at the door for you." She said with a slight smile.

Meredith walked downstairs to see Derek. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." He whispered. He looked for her, but couldn't find her earlier. "You almost died today."

"Yeah, I almost died today." Meredith agreed.

There was an awkward silence, and Derek started to leave.

"I can't remember the last time we kissed." Meredith said when he turned around. "All I could think about today when I was going to die was that I can't remember our last kiss, which is pathetic but the last time we were together and happy I want to be able to remember."

"I'm glad you didn't die today." Derek started. "It was a Thursday morning. You were wearing that ratty little Dartmouth t-shirt you look so good in. The one with the hole in the back of the neck. You'd just washed your hair and you smelled like some kind of flower. I was running late for surgery. You said you were gonna see me later and you leaned to me, you put your hand on my chest and you kissed me. Soft. Was quick, kinda like a habit. You know, like we'd do it every day for the rest of our lives. You went back to reading the newspaper and I went to work. That was the last time we kissed."

"Lavender. My hair smelled like lavender from my conditioner." Meredith said.

Before he could walk out the door, Meredith ran to close the distance between them. She was tired of waiting for what she wanted. She glanced up at him.

"Your divorce really better be finalized so I'm not some dirty mistress by doing this." She said before kissing him. He responded by kissing her back.

When they separated for air, he smiled. "Lavender. And my divorce is finalized. You're not a dirty mistress, Meredith, never." He leaned in to kiss her again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Pretty please review with a cherry on top? It would mean so much to me. Also, I'm really sorry in advance if it takes me a while to update - hectic life and whatnot. **

Chapter 4: Faith

The alarm blared, waking Meredith up. She felt Derek's arms wrap around her tighter, which made her smile. She loved waking up next to him, as she'd done for the past week following the day where she'd almost died.

_"Lavender. And my divorce is finalized. You're not a dirty mistress, Meredith, never." He leaned in to kiss her again._

_"Stay." She said when they separated for air again._

_"Okay." He smiled. He followed her upstairs into her room where she opened a drawer and pulled out his favorite pajamas that he'd thought he lost. _

_"You had them?" He asked, amused._

_She blushed. "Yeah, you left them. I washed them and I meant to give them back but I didn't know how so I just kept them here." Plus, they reminded her of the wonderful nights they spent together. _

_"I wondered where they were." Derek admitted as he changed. He joined her in her bed. _

_"Sorry." Meredith apologized, rolling onto her side so he couldn't see the smile that was on her face._

_He kissed the back of her neck before spooning her. "Don't be." _

"Mer, we have to get up." Derek said, kissing her cheek.

"I don't want to." She pouted.

"We're going to be late." He said. "You don't want that, do you?"

"You know what would make me feel better?" She turned to face him.

"What?" He smiled.

"A quickie." She said, kissing him.

He chuckled. "Fine."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Mark had been doing his best to ignore the rather inappropriate thoughts he'd been having when it came to Lexie. Since he met her, he'd given up his womanizing ways, which bothered him. After all, it wasn't like she reciprocated. She was a mourning woman after all, as he'd found out last week. But Mark couldn't help being attracted to her.

Lexie approached the nurses' station where Mark was doing charts. She couldn't help but note how attractive he looked from where she stood. "Hi." When he looked up, she continued. "I get it. I was that crazy intern last week who probably crossed the line of professionalism by telling my boss about my personal life. The thing is, while some people suggest sex as a way out of a sad predicament, I think I would rather just learn today. So, what do you say?"

"Why are you talking about sex with me?" Mark cut her off. "It's inappropriate. I'm your teacher. I have things to teach. Double board certified things." He tried not to think about sex with Lexie but failed terribly.

"That's what I was talking about. For you to teach me. Medicine. The sex thing, that was a joke." Lexie spluttered.

Mark sighed. "I'm reconstructing a hypo pharynx. You can scrub in."

Lexie grinned. "Thank you!" She knew how cutting edge the surgery was. It would be awesome. She followed Mark into his office, where he was going to show her the specifics of the surgery.

Mark tried not to think about how nice Lexie smelled as she stood behind him as he showed her the specifics of the surgery on his monitor. When she leaned in to get a closer look, he snapped. "Back up. Back the hell up."

Lexie wondered what she did wrong. "I'm sorry." She apologized. He'd never snapped at her like that before.

"Look, just go finish prepping Mrs. Patterson for surgery."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Meredith was holding Derek's hand as they stepped out of the elevator. She froze as she saw someone standing at the nurses' station. Someone she didn't want Derek to see.

"Finn?" She asked, letting go of Derek's hand.

"Meredith! Finally. You haven't returned my calls." Finn glanced between Derek and Meredith. "So I figured I'd come to see you here."

"Yeah. I've been busy." Meredith said awkwardly.

"Who's he?" Finn asked, accusingly.

"I'm Derek. Who are you?" Derek answered.

"I'm Finn Dandrige. I'm Meredith's..." He trailed off, unsure of the proper word.

Meredith felt like she was in the middle of a pissing contest. She cleared her throat. "Finn, we weren't in a relationship. We went on a couple of dates and that's it. I figured you'd understand that me not returning your calls would be obvious enough."

"Oh, so I didn't deserve an explanation? What if I viewed us as in a relationship?" Finn retorted.

"I think she was clear in her explanation." Derek interjected. He was acting possessive, not that Meredith could blame him.

Meredith sighed. "Derek, just go. I promise I'll explain later, okay?" This was not how she wanted things to go. Not after her week had pretty much been perfect.

He gave her a look before walking off. "Fine." His tone scared Meredith. Was that a break up tone?

Meredith focused on Finn. "I don't see why you're making a big deal out of a couple dates." She picked up a stack of charts, trying her best to signal that she wanted the conversation to be over.

He grabbed her arm, and Meredith froze. "Let go of my arm." She said so quietly it was almost a whisper. He hadn't changed after all.

"Why?" Finn sneered. "You're scared of me, just like you were back then. And I'm going to get my way with you."

"Let go of her arm. Unless you want a repeat of what happened ten years ago. I have no problem with punching your face in all over again." Meredith breathed as Lexie walked up. "Leave my sister alone, Finn. She's obviously not interested."

Finn released Meredith's arm. "Look who it is. What a lovely reunion."

"Finn, leave or I'll call security. I won't tell you again." Lexie came to stand next to Meredith.

"Meredith?" Finn asked. Obviously he expected her to say something on his behalf.

"No, she's right. Leave. This is the last time we see each other. I want nothing to do with you." Meredith spoke up. "Goodbye, Finn."

"Have a nice life, whores." Finn called as he stalked off.

"Meredith? Are you okay?" Lexie asked.

"I think Derek's going to break up with me." Meredith sighed. "I asked him to leave."

"He won't. He loves you. You love him. It'll all work out." Lexie reassured her.

"I never should've let Finn back in to my life. I should've just thrown that stupid card out when he gave it to me. Plus, I think I'm going to bruise where he gripped my arm. I can't believe I was so stupid." Meredith was on the verge of tears.

"You couldn't have known." Lexie said, hugging her. "Just tell Derek the truth later."

"I won't forgive myself if Derek leaves because of this." Meredith confessed.

"Well, I can't read his mind, but I can distract you. Sloan hates me." Lexie admitted.

Meredith laughed. "He doesn't hate you, he wants you. There's a bet going around on how long it takes for him to make a move."

"Wait, seriously? Why? He's like way out of my league. Have you seen him?" Lexie blushed.

"Why do you think his nickname is McSteamy?" Meredith giggled. "You so have a crush on him."

"I know. Oh crap, I was supposed to finish prepping a patient for surgery. I have to go." Lexie ran off.

Meredith decided to find Derek. She figured he'd be in his office, so she headed there. She knocked twice, reminding herself to breathe. This was not a conversation she was looking forward to.

"Come in." She heard his voice. She walked in.

"Hi." She started, still waiting in the doorway.

"Hi."

"So I promised you an explanation earlier. If you still want it, I guess." Meredith closed the door behind her.

"Okay." Derek said.

"I don't really know where to start." Meredith confessed. "But that day when I said I was getting a dog, I ran into Finn since he's the vet that works at the shelter Lexie and I visited. He gave me his number and asked me if I wanted to reconnect or whatever. That was the first time I'd seen him in ten years. I probably would've been fine with never seeing him again. Anyway, you were in the middle of your divorce at the time and I don't know what I was thinking. I agreed to go to dinner a couple of times with him, but it was never actually going to amount to anything. Not after what he put me through. And definitely not when I was still so in love with you."

"I don't understand. How did you know him?" Derek asked.

She paused. "I met Finn in high school. It was the summer before my junior year. He had a car and seemed really nice. He got me flowers and said he wanted to show me a good time. I fell for the whole act. I wasn't in love with him by any stretch of the imagination. I always knew he was just a step along the way. I didn't know where I was headed though. So I guess I let myself think it was easier to just stay with him. And it was really nice for the first seven or eight months. We did the whole cheesy high school dating thing. We made appearances at parties. But he got jealous in the summer before our senior year. I had a lab partner, Brian. Finn always thought I was cheating on him. He became abusive. I think I spent just as much money on coverup as I did on alcohol. Lexie knew, but I begged her not to tell anyone. I just let Finn use me however he wanted. He was so possessive all the time. I mean at first, the whole jealous thing, it was sort of cute. But that was before he got physical. It was really terrible but I never stood up to him. The night I finally decided I had enough, Lexie, Finn, and I ended up in the hospital. I told him I wanted to break up, and he went crazy. He accused me of cheating again, and then he beat me worse than he'd ever before. I managed to run home with him chasing me. Lexie was just getting home from the gym. She boxed, and she hadn't even taken her gloves off when I got there. She saw me and she knew. We've always had that kind of sistership, you know? I didn't have to tell her. He was right behind me, but Lexie punched his face in before he could come close to me. She told him to leave me alone and that she'd break more than just his face if he tried to come near me again. She broke his nose and his jaw. She fractured her wrist from punching him so much. I had two broken ribs and internal bleeding. My own mother operated on me. Finn moved away afterwards and I did what a Grey does. I drank to forget and distanced myself from anyone who could ever come close enough to hurt me."

Derek was speechless. He could kill Finn for what he did to Meredith. Meredith, who'd gotten a crappy hand of cards from life in the first place.

Meredith paced, scared. "Derek, say something. I just told you about Finn. I could probably handle you telling me that you're breaking up with me more than I can handle the silence."

Derek stood up and walked over to where she stood. "Meredith, I wouldn't leave you. I can't believe anyone could be so stupid to hurt you. You didn't deserve it." He hugged her. "I'm sorry if I acted possessive."

"I'm sorry I pushed you away." Meredith replied, not letting go of him.

"It's okay." Derek glanced at the clock. "I have a tumor resection right now. You want to scrub in?"

Meredith smiled. "Yes, please." And she knew that somehow, they were okay. That they'd somehow made progress in their relationship. Instead of running or shutting Derek out, she was opening up. While the realization terrified her, she was doing her best to trust Derek. She had faith. Because she really needed him. She needed their relationship to work.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

The reconstruction had gone flawlessly. Lexie had been awestruck by Mark's skills. She couldn't help but wonder what his hands felt like, and mentally kicked herself. She was having extremely inappropriate thoughts about her boss. Her very attractive boss. Who, according to Meredith, wanted her. She smiled as she walked into Mrs. Patterson's room.

"Hi. Can you say something? We need to check if the surgery worked." Lexie glanced at the woman, who was already back to blogging and using post-it notes. Her husband sighed.

Mrs. Patterson shook her head.

"I'm done! I'm fed up with the lack of communication. You think it's hard to live without speaking, but I have to stand here and read words that lose their meaning every time I read them. You're so involved with your blog that you won't even try anymore. I can't speak for you. You have to try." Mr. Patterson stormed out of the room.

Lexie decided to try a different angle. "Mrs. Patterson, it's just us. I'm a nobody. You don't have to worry about me. If it doesn't work, it won't matter. But it would mean so much to everyone if you would just have faith to try. Just try once."

After a long silence, Mrs. Patterson whispered, "Hi." She smiled at Lexie and spoke louder, "Can you find my husband?"

Lexie looked outside the room's window. Mr. Patterson hadn't gone far. She walked to the doorway. "She wants to see you."

Mr. Patterson sighed and walked in. "I'm sorry." He apologized, oblivious to his wife's grin.

"I love you." Mrs. Patterson took his hand in hers.

His jaw dropped. "I love you too."

Lexie decided to leave the couple to celebrate by themselves. As she finished the chart, she decided to take her own advice to have faith and try. When her shift ended, she rushed to the locker room and changed. Thankfully, she had worn her favorite sweater so she didn't have to change. She remembered Mark's address from a piece of paper that Meredith had left on the fridge. The apartment building wasn't hard to find since he lived right across from the hospital.

After several deep breaths, she knocked on the door. Her memory hadn't failed her, as Mark Sloan opened the door.

Before he could say anything, she said, "You made her speak. Mrs. Patterson, she said hi. She spoke. You made her speak." She smiled. She was trying to decipher Mark's expression. Seeing as how he hadn't shut the door in her face, she took the opportunity to walk past him into his apartment.

She turned to face him. "I respect you. As a man. As a surgeon, as a teacher, I respect you. So teach me." She tried to control her nerves as she took off her coat. She wondered why he was still standing at the door.

Mark shook his head. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Don't do that, stop."

Lexie took off her shoes as Mark finally closed the door. "Teach me." She repeated.

"Don't, stop." He repeated as he walked closer.

"Teach me." She persisted.

"We can't do this. You're Little Grey." He protested. "And I'm your teacher!"

"So, teach me." Lexie pulled her sweater off.

"Lexie." Mark covered his eyes, knowing that if she went any further, he'd give in. He wanted her desperately but he didn't want this to turn into anything either would regret.

"Teach me." Lexie took off her camisole as Mark attempted to look anywhere but at her.

She was only in her bra now. "Come on, am I really so bad?" She asked, feeling insecure.

"No. I am." Mark answered, closing the distance between them. He kissed her so passionately that Lexie forgot her name for a second. She pulled him closer and continued to kiss him.

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where they did more than just kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Family

**A/N: I feel like I've done this lots of times before, but I am so sorry for how long it took to update this. Thanks for the reviews and follows! Please read and review, give me advice, tell me about what you think of the newest episode, or just leave me something random.**

Mark realized that he woke up alone. He tried to remember if the night was just a crazy dream or if his sexy intern had indeed strolled into his apartment and if the two had spent the best night Mark had ever had. He rolled onto his side and checked the time. Somehow, it was almost 8 AM. He sighed and rolled over to the other side of the bed, where a folded piece of paper lay on top of a pillow. He held his breath as he opened it.

_Mark, _

_You looked so peaceful sleeping I didn't have the heart to wake you. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed a piece of paper to write this note on. I'm sorry I had to leave without telling you but it was time for me to get to work. Thank you for everything. I made you pancakes and coffee before I left. I hope they'll still be warm when you wake up. See you at work? Unless you're mad at me, which I guess I'd understand. Sorry if I did anything wrong.  
_

_x,_

_Lexie_

Mark smiled. She didn't regret the night, and she hoped he didn't either. He strolled into the kitchen and smiled at the plate of pancakes sitting on his island. Next to the pancakes there was a bottle of syrup. Lexie was extremely thoughtful. Mark couldn't help but grin as he ate the pancakes, which were still warm. He missed her already.

* * *

"Oh my god." Meredith and Cristina were nearly in tears laughing as Lexie wore her scrubs over a turtleneck sweater.

"Shut up." Lexie hissed but blushed furiously.

"You have a hickey." Cristina giggled.

"Shh. People will hear you! I don't need to be gossiped about." Lexie replied.

Meredith smiled. "You know I"m just teasing. I love you." She hugged her sister.

"Okay, you know that you two are my people. But I'm not going to hug you or whatever." Cristina added.

Meredith rolled her eyes and pulled Cristina into the hug. "Deal with it. You're our person."

When they let go, Cristina fidgeted before speaking. "Burke proposed. And I don't know what my answer is."

Meredith asked, "Do you want us to give you an answer that pushes you toward saying yes or an answer that pushes you toward saying no?"

Lexie added quickly, "It's just, marriage just hasn't seemed to work out for the people that mattered in our lives."

Cristina nodded. "I'm not the girl who gets married, either. But I don't want to lose Burke. I don't think I can handle that. And it's not just because he's a cardio god. I remember the first time he told me he loved me. He thought I was asleep. I said it back to him the next night when he was asleep. I just really don't want to walk down an aisle in a suffocating dress with a ton of people watching."

Meredith thought. "What if it was just at city hall? A simple dress, just you and him. Lexie and I can be witnesses for you, and Burke can bring Derek. They're friends, after all."

Cristina was silent. "I think I'd be okay with that. I guess I'm more opposed to the wedding than I am a marriage. After all, it's just a piece of paper, right?"

"Stupid boy penises. They have to go and complicate everything as soon as things start to be fine." Lexie commented.

"Amen." Cristina and Meredith agreed.

"What are you people doing just standing around? Get to your jobs! Grey, you're with Fields. Yang, Burke. Little Grey, Scut. Move it, people!" Bailey shouted.

"Great. Vagina squad." Meredith rolled her eyes, but waved as she walked off.

"See you in pink scrubs." Cristina smirked.

* * *

"She made me pancakes, Derek." Mark was filling Derek in about his morning.

"So? I make Meredith pancakes." Derek shrugged as he slipped his lab coat on.

"She's amazing." Mark explained.

Derek halted to face his best friend. Something was different about Mark. "Do you have feelings for her?" Derek asked.

Mark paused. "I think I do. You know I haven't had feelings for a girl since we were still in our residency."

Derek sighed, unsure of how to feel. "Just don't hurt her, okay? Because if you do, Meredith might castrate you or me or both of us. You know how protective she is of Lexie. Not that Lexie needs it, in my opinion. After all, she's done her fair share of trying to protect Meredith."

"Lexie protected Meredith? I thought Meredith was feisty enough." Mark asked, surprised.

"Lexie did a real number on Meredith's ex. Like a need-plastic-surgery kind of number." Derek explained.

"Well, you're lucky I'm your best friend. If Lexie ever does a number on you, you won't have to go far to find a plastic surgeon." Mark joked.

Derek gently punched Mark on the shoulder. "Quit that. You know I'd never hurt Meredith."

"You better not. I like her." Mark commented. "And you know how few of your girlfriends I've approved of."

Derek snorted. "You've never approved of one."

It was Mark's turn to whack Derek. "I approve of Big Grey!"

Derek smiled. "I'm glad. Speaking of approval, I guess I should call Ma."

"She's really pissed at you. You haven't really called since you and Addison divorced." Mark warned.

"You talk to her more than me." Derek chuckled. His life centered mostly on work and his relationship with Meredith, which was great. He loved seeing her smile, and he loved the fact that she was letting him in. In time, he could see a complete future with her, from marriage to children to growing old together.

"Well, someone has to keep her in the loop!" Mark feigned indignity.

"I know. I feel bad, I really do." Derek sighed. He felt guilty that he hardly called his mom anymore or his sisters. He was tired of having to explain to his family that he was indeed dating a younger woman and that it wasn't a midlife crisis. This was the rest of his life, and it seemed like his family wouldn't accept it. His sister Nancy had especially liked Addison since the two had been friends since med school.

"You know what? They'll come around." Mark said, knowing what Derek was thinking.

"Thanks." Derek said, before his pager went off. "See you later!"

* * *

Over the years, Meredith had developed various scenarios concerning the whereabouts of her father. She never thought she'd see him again. Then again, life just seemed to hate her.

She forced a smile as she followed Dr. Fields into her patient's room. Molly Grey, who had come in due to complications with her pregnancy.

"Good morning. I'm Dr. Lucy Fields and I'll be your doctor. This is Dr. Grey, she'll be assisting me."

Thatcher froze as he saw Meredith. "Meredith?"

"Good morning." Meredith faked a smile. She saw Thatcher's wife standing beside him, holding his hand. Of course he moved on. Moved on to a new wife and had a child. He didn't have any reason to fight for her or Lexie.

"So your baby has a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Luckily, there should be no harm for your baby. We'll need to operate on her to repair it." Dr. Fields waited for any questions.

"Dr. Grey, can you prep her for surgery? And answer any questions the family might have." Meredith nodded.

When Dr. Fields left, Thatcher cleared his throat. "May I have a word with you? Outside?"

Meredith nodded. She didn't know how much his new family knew about his old family, but she figured it would be better for her not to say anything.

"It's nice to see you after all these years." Thatcher started.

"You don't have to do the thing. The fake apology for all the years you missed. The fake apology for taking away my childhood since you left me to raise my younger sister, who by the way was heartbroken when you left. I never found a drawer of cards that Ellis wouldn't give us. You didn't try, so you're just as much to blame as she is. And I don't blame you. You have Susan and Molly. You seem like a happy family, so I'm happy for you. But don't ask me to come out here to listen to your fake apologies. And stay away from Lexie. I know that you and mom had her for you, but I won't let you damage her anymore. If she wants to see you, she'll find you. If you don't have any medical questions, I'd like to get back to work. And you don't need to worry about the family thing. We're no better than strangers." Meredith answered calmly. It was almost shocking how cold she sounded. But she didn't forgive her father.

Since he was speechless, Meredith walked back into Molly's room and started prepping her for surgery. When she finally took a break, she wandered to the gurney where she usually met her friends. Lexie was already sitting there, eating a candy bar and reading a magazine.

"What's got you stressed?" Meredith asked, sitting next to Lexie. Lexie only ate candy bars when she was stressed or sad.

"I haven't seen Mark at all. Like not even in passing. So he could be avoiding me. God, did I overstep the line by making him pancakes? I know he probably thought it was just like a one night stand or whatever but I want more. Oh my god, what is wrong with me? Out of all the guys I choose, I pick the one that has a reputation as a manwhore." Lexie fretted.

"He's in surgery." Meredith laughed. "He got paged in on an emergency. I'm sure he thoroughly enjoyed your pancakes. Plus, if it was a one night stand, he would have just kicked you out after instead of sharing his bed with you. And neither of you were drunk, so it wasn't like he couldn't kick you out if he wanted to. He wanted you to stay. After all, I'm practically fluent in one night stands. Not that it's something I'm proud of."

Lexie smiled. "Well, Derek was supposed to be a one night stand and now you two are happy!"

Meredith shrugged. "I want it to work out. I need it to work out, but I'm dark and twisty. It doesn't help that Dad's here with his new family. His daughter is my patient. He tried to apologize to me, but I don't care. I just thought you should know, in case you wanted to see him. But if he hurts you, I swear I'll make him a eunuch."

Lexie's jaw dropped. "Dad's here?"

Meredith nodded. "Drop by in neonatal if you want to see him. I have to go scrub in though."

* * *

The surgery had gone flawlessly. Both Molly and her baby were fine. Meredith was in the midst of updating Molly's chart when Susan walked up.

"Hi. I've heard so much about you." Susan smiled.

Meredith sighed. "Yet I know nothing about you."

"We can fix that. Perhaps you'd like to come over for dinner sometime?" Susan asked.

"I think I'll pass." Meredith slammed the chart shut. "Look, I appreciate the fact that you think you need to make me part of your family or whatever, but I'm fine. I have family. Excuse me."

Meredith stalked off with no specific purpose in mind. In her haste, she almost collided into Derek. He caught her, and she leaned into his chest, savoring the embrace.

"Hi." She murmured, listening to his heartbeat.

He kissed the top of her hair. "You usually don't hug me in hallways. Is everything okay?"

She shook her head. "My dad's here with his wife and his daughter who I guess is technically my half sister. I spent years waiting for a sign, Derek. Years. And now I know why there never was one. I'm not okay because I want to just slap him and yell at him but I can't because his daughter is my patient. And I had to tell Lexie, which was the worst part."

Derek pulled her into an on call room for privacy. "Why was telling Lexie the worst part?"

Meredith sighed. "You have four sisters. If you saw them hurting, you'd be mad at whoever was responsible, right?"

Derek nodded, unsure of her point. "Of course."

"I didn't spend years waiting for my dad to come back to me. I spent years waiting for him to come back to Lexie. I spent years watching my little sister cry herself to sleep at Christmas, on her birthday. She used to stay up just for 11:11 to make sure she had that second wish. She wished on eyelashes. Her wish was always the same: for dad to come back. I looked around the house everywhere to see if maybe he tried. But he didn't. I can't forgive him because what he did to Lexie is unforgivable. She might, but I won't." Meredith explained.

Derek hugged her tightly. "Mer, I get it."

"Good. Because I would hate you if you tried to give me one of those forgive and forget speeches." Meredith replied.

Derek chuckled. "Would you hit me with your tiny, ineffectual fists?"

Meredith grinned. "Probably."

"I'm glad you told me." Derek said.

"I'm glad too." Meredith meant it. It was hard for her, but it was worth it. She didn't want to shut Derek out, and Derek gave her the best reassurance. She felt vulnerable. "Please don't leave me." She whispered.

Derek kissed her. "I won't. I promise. I'm in this for the long run, Meredith. I love you. And I get that there will be times when we'll fight. I'll yell, and you'll yell, but I'll always be with you." Derek couldn't leave her even if he wanted to. And he never wanted to. He'd finally found the love of his life, and even though Mark would think him to be corny, he could see a happily ever after with Meredith.

Meredith smiled. "I love you too." She leaned in to kiss him again. "You're not needed anywhere right now, are you?" She asked.

"Nope, my schedule's clear for the next hour." Derek replied. "We can do a lot in an hour." He kissed her, before trailing his kisses everywhere.

* * *

Lexie was pacing at the nurses' station near neonatal. Someone tapped her shoulder and she nearly shrieked before she realized it was Mark.

"You scared me." She whispered.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Why are we whispering?" He asked in a whisper as he leaned closer.

"I don't know." She said quietly.

"Is something wrong? It wasn't last night, was it?" Mark asked, suddenly worried that maybe he'd read the signs wrong and that she did regret last night.

Lexie shook her head. "No! Last night was amazing. My father is somewhere on this floor with his daughter. Not Meredith or me, obviously. Um, his other daughter who I've never met but apparently is pregnant. Meredith operated on them earlier. I don't know why I'm here honestly. Oh gosh, this is a bad idea." Lexie rambled.

Mark smiled. Her rambling was adorable. "I enjoyed last night too." He said.

She grinned.

"Lexie?" Lexie whipped around to see her father.

"Hi." She squeaked.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, smiling, as if he was glad she'd came to see him.

"I work here. I'm an intern." Lexie answered.

"Oh." Lexie noticed how his voice had taken an almost disapproving tone and how he kept looking between her and Mark.

Mark cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

"Are you sleeping with a married man?" Thatcher demanded before Mark could move.

Lexie stared at the man in front of her. Was he serious? Lexie was shocked that he would assume such a thing. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. As far as I know, Mark is single. The similarity between Ellis and me ends with our profession."

"For the record, I'm not married." Mark spoke up awkwardly. He felt like he was intruding, but he also felt the need to stay in case Lexie needed someone.

"Of course it's my business that you're having casual sex! I'm your.." Thatcher snapped but was cut off by a furious Lexie.

"You're my what? My father? Only by blood. And I had nothing to do with that. You left, you walked out. If it's anyone's business who I date or who I sleep with, it's Meredith's. She raised me. She's the one who came to my stupid concerts. She never missed a single boxing match. She stayed in my room every year on Christmas and my birthday because I wished you'd come back, but you never did. You weren't there for a single moment, so don't you dare try to stake your claim now. I only came up here because Meredith said you were here, and I don't even know why. I guess I wanted closure. I want nothing to do with you anymore. The only family I need is Meredith. Goodbye, Thatcher." Lexie said calmly but coldly.

Mark followed her as she left, not knowing where she was going. Once Lexie was inside an on call room, she broke down. Mark sat next to her and held her close. He hated her dad in that moment for making her cry. He wiped her tears, thinking that she didn't deserve that.

"I hate dads." Lexie sniffled.

"Me too." Mark agreed, thinking of his awful childhood. His parents had never been around, so Derek's parents had mostly raised him.

"What's your story?" Lexie asked.

"My parents were too busy for me. I don't think they loved each other or me. Both had affairs, but they never got divorced. I used to wish they would, because if they weren't avoiding each other, they were fighting. When Derek and I became friends, I used to spend so much time at his house that his parents started setting a place at the dinner table for me." Mark smiled at the memory. "They practically adopted me. His dad used to take us fishing when the weather was nice. I call Derek's mom Ma. When I was little, I always wanted my parents to be like Derek's."

"I still win the contest of who had crappier parents." Lexie joked. She was trying to lighten the atmosphere. After all, she was serious when she told Thatcher she was finished with him. She got her closure. Now she wanted to enjoy the presence of Mark, who was extremely attractive.

Mark chuckled. "Okay. You win."

"I want a prize." Lexie pouted.

Mark smiled. "You can have a kiss." He leaned in to kiss her softly. "You know, some people would call this a relationship. We've had sex, which was incredible, you made me pancakes, and now we're kissing in an on call room."

"Who would call this a relationship?" Lexie teased.

"Me. I would." Mark answered.

"I would too." Lexie kissed him again. "But we can do more than just kiss in here. We can christen this on call room."

Mark shifted them so that Lexie was lying on the cot. "I like that idea." He said, before his lips crushed hers again.


End file.
